Tagged: Class A Short-Season Ogden

After eight seasons in Las Vegas, the Dodgers announced on Sept. 18 they will move their Triple-A affiliate back to Albuquerque, where they will be called the Isotopes.

The Dodgers played Triple-A baseball in Albuquerque from 1972-2000 — with Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, Orel Hershiser, Davey Lopes, Mike Marshall, Pedro Martinez, Mike Piazza, and Bill Russell all making stops — and the city hosted the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate from 1963-71.

“We’re very excited to be returning to Albuquerque,” player development director De Jon Watson said in a release. “Their top-notch facility will undoubtedly help us develop future Dodgers, and their fans have been following this franchise for many years.”

Albuquerque has built a new stadium, Isotopes Park, since the Dodgers were last affiliated with the city, and it is considered one of the finest facilities in Minor League Baseball. A franchise-record 593,606 fans visited the ballpark in 2008 to see the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate.

“It’s a lot more modern facility, clubhouses, weight room, amenities for us from a player-development standpoint,” Watson said in an interview with MLB.com. “It’s more of a unique ballpark that’s conducive to doing the things we need to do with our players from a development standpoint to get them ready to play up here.”

Albuquerque won eight Pacific Coast League championships as the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate and three Texas League titles while a Double-A affiliate of the Dodgers.

Watson added the Dodgers enjoyed their time in Las Vegas working with the 51s’ staff, but he looks forward to returning to the city Los Angeles Minor Leaguers called home for 38 years.

“It’s nice to be able to go back into the market,” Watson said. “I think we do have a strong fan base there. The fans in Albuquerque have some familiarity there and have had quite a few Major League players move on from that place. The fan base will be familiar with our brand of baseball and style of players.”

The Dodgers will also move their Double-A home to Chattanooga, Tenn., after an eight-year run with Jacksonville. The Lookouts, who play at AT&T Field, had previously been a part of the Reds’ organization.

“Our move to Chattanooga will continue to help bring all of our affiliates closer to home,” Watson said in a release. “We look forward to making an impact throughout the city as our Minor League players continue to hone their skills en route to the big leagues.”

The Dodgers signed two-year deals with both Albuquerque and Chattanooga.

The Dodgers’ final move also involves distance, switching their entry in the Gulf Coast League to the Arizona Rookie League. They will be called the “Arizona League Dodgers.”

Class A Advanced Inland Empire and Class A Great Lakes will remain Dodgers affiliates for a third straight season, and Rookie-level Class A Ogden will stay for a seventh consecutive year.

The Dodgers will also continue to field a Dominican Summer League team.

But it’s important to also note McDonald was voted as possessing the best changeup in the Southern League in Baseball America’s annual “Best Tools” survey of league managers and coaches, and De Jesus hit .438 (46-for-105) with five homers, 16 RBIs and 31 runs scored in 27 August games for Double-A Jacksonville, raising his batting average to .324, fourth best in the system.

Both players will be honored in a pregame ceremony Sept. 20 at Dodger Stadium.

Right-hander Chris Withrow, the Dodgers’ 2007 first-round Draft pick, threw four innings in four August games for Class A Advanced Inland Empire, compiling a 4.50 ERA with six walks to one strikeout after being shelved all season with arm and control problems. He will pitch in instructional league.

“We were progressing him slowly, a little tender in the elbow early in the year, and we didn’t want to rush him,” said Dodgers player development director De Jon Watson. “He was a young high school senior when we took him last year, and there was no reason to really rush him. He made progress, the velocity was there, he was 92-94 (mph) flashing a lights-out breaking ball at times.”

Added scouting director Logan White, “His arm’s feeling really good and just trying to get the command and the feel back. The main thing is getting back feeling good on the mound and commanding the fastball. Health-wise we feel we kind of got him over the hump. It’s kind of like what we did with James McDonald when he was young, err on the side of caution.”

Both officials commended 2008 sixth-round pick Anthony Delmonico, a second baseman who hit .340 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs for Class A Short-Season Ogden, and White praised the “electric arm” of 11th-round pick Nathan Eovaldi, who compiled a 1.13 ERA and nine strikeouts in eight innings for Ogden.

Outfielder Kyle Russell, the 2008 third-round pick, also was lauded for hitting .279 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs with Ogden.

Speaking about the draft class as a whole, Watson said, “That group of kids, it’s a grinding group of kids. They’re hard-nosed, they play hard. I hate to get overly excited, but I like the group of kids we have. I like their makeup and their character. The scouts did a tremendous job of trying to figure out who these young men are before they turned them over to us and brought them into our system.”

“From a player-development standpoint, you see incremental growth in these kids, and that’s what we’re looking for,” Watson said. “We’re trying to get those steps because that’s what player development is about. It’s trying to get them so they continue to progress to get better to increase their value to the organization and to the industry.”

Dodgers farm clubs bow out of playoffs

Only two of the Dodgers’ seven farm teams reached postseason play, which will happen when an organization brings up as much young talent as Los Angeles has the last three seasons, and both Inland Empire and Ogden fizzled out in the first round.

Inland Empire dropped a pair to Lake Elsinore, 10-7 in Game 1 and 8-2 in Game 2. Game 1 was suspended by rain, leading Lake Elsinore to finish off Game 1 and take Game 2 on Aug. 4.

Ogden lost in three games to Orem Sept. 6-8, losing a 5-1 decision in Game 1 and taking Game 2 by the score of 8-6 in 10 innings before losing the deciding Game 3, 9-7.

Below is a snapshot of the top producers in the Dodgers’ Minor League system this season from a statistical point of view, taking a look at the players who led each of the Dodgers’ respective farm teams in major statistical categories.

The stats provide a solid baseline to see which players enjoyed the best seasons, but level-based stats do not take into account numbers put up by a promoted player after leaving the level he dominated most of the season.

Be sure to check out this Minor League feature on dodgers.com for a more complete wrap-up of the Dodgers’ Minor League system in 2008 with comment from player development director De Jon Watson and scouting director Logan White.

The Dodgers have announced the winners of the Dodger Pride Awards for July. The awards were created by general manager Ned Colletti to honor a pitcher and position player from each Minor League team in the organization who plays “the game with a hustling, smart, aggressive style” by a vote of players and staff from each respective club.

Triple-A Las Vegas

Pitcher — Right-hander Heath Totten recorded a 4-2 record and a 3.90 ERA over 32 1/3 innings of six starts.

Player — Third baseman Angel Chavez hit .359 with seven doubles, two homers, and 13 RBIs in 23 games. Chavez made the Dodgers out of Spring Training but was designated for assignment on April 3 without making an appearance and has not returned to the Majors.

Double-A Jacksonville

Pitcher — Right-hander Danny Muegge went 0-1 but yielded just one run in 19 innings (0.47 ERA) of seven games (two starts). Muegge, acquired from Arizona in the Shawn Green trade, opened the month by pitching 12 consecutive scoreless innings.

Player — Outfielder James Tomlin batted .337 with five doubles, a homer, and 10 RBIs in 26 games to take the award. Tomlin, a Los Angeles native, has stayed hot in August, hitting .476 with five doubles and four RBIs in his first 11 games of the new month.

Class A Advanced Inland Empire

Pitcher — Left-hander David Pfeiffer put up a 2.33 ERA in 19 1/3 innings over 11 games while striking out 19. He went 1-1 with a save in July after also winning the award in June.

Player — Outfielder Trayvon Robinson hit .278 with four doubles, three triples, 12 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 26 July games. The former 10th-round pick in 2005 has started off August strong as well, hitting .400 with 11 runs scored in his first 10 contests.